Welcome to Brave New World:
From a pro-life standpoint, the whole thing is grotesque. But from a pro-choice standpoint, it’s agonizing. One woman who wanted a child aborted, in her own body, another woman’s healthy, wanted child. It’s generally understood that if you hire a surrogate to carry your embryo, she, not you, gets to decide whether to abort it. It may be your baby, but it’s her body, and that’s the legal trump card. A woman who’s carrying your child against her will, as in the Japanese case, presumably has an even greater right to end the pregnancy. But what about you? You didn’t sign a surrogacy contract. You made that embryo so you could give it life yourself. The doctor picked it because it looked like a good candidate to become a child, and the subsequent pregnancy proved him right. A healthy child, your child, was terminated without your consent, consultation, or knowledge. Is that right?
If you think this is an easy call, hang on: It gets worse. The woman who aborted the fetus was in her 20s. The woman who lost it was in her 40s. If the elder woman has since become pregnant, I can’t find any record of it. Can you imagine losing your last chance at motherhood this way? What would you have said to the woman carrying your child, if you’d had a chance to speak to her in time?
Huxley had no idea….